ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥

Faced with surging food costs and plunging revenues since dining rooms were closed to protect public health, many proprietors are debating surcharges or higher menu prices to stay afloat.

Reports from around the country show that many restaurants are adding COVID-19 surcharges on customers’ dining receipts.

“There’s a lot of talk about surcharges and raising prices,� said Travis Peters, co-owner of The Parish, a popular Southern food spot on North Oracle Road.

“What it all comes down to is, what will the public accept?,� said Peters, who plans to reopen his dining room in early June with social-distancing measures.

He said he’s debating whether to raise some prices, but hates to do it at a time many ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ans “are struggling financially.â€�

“We’re talking about a cash-strapped society,� Peters lamented, pointing to historic levels of joblessness.

Finding a balance between a restaurant’s need to stay solvent and the public’s declining ability to pay “feels like an impossible thing,� he added.

“It’s a very volatile balance to strike,â€� agreed Steve Chucri, president of the Phoenix-based ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Restaurant Association, a statewide trade group with hundreds of local members.

Surcharges are a hot topic in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, said Mathew Cable, a board member for two industry organizations, the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Originals and the Gastronomic Union of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.

“I’ve had a lot of discussions with ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ restaurateurs about a COVID surcharge,â€� said Cable, who owns several Fresco Pizza locations and co-owns Dante’s Fire, a gastropub and cocktail bar on East Grant Road.

“At first, I think it was universally opposed,� he said of the surcharge. “But then reality set in.�

The reality, he said, is many restaurants can’t survive without more revenue to offset higher food prices and the added costs to comply with health measures.

“Even the restaurateurs who are against it are looking at a situation where they might have to impose something like that,� Cable said. “The question is, what will the market bear when people are already hurting for money?�

One idea under discussion is to charge diners an additional fee for sit-down service, while keeping prices lower for take-out customers, Cable said.

Meanwhile, the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Attorney General’s Office has issued a public reminder to businesses and consumers about the legalities of adding a surcharge to restaurant bills. It’s only legal if the surcharge is disclosed in advance, the agency said.

“If a business attempts to deceive or sneak additional fees past consumers, we need (consumers) to file complaints with our office and we will take action when necessary,� said Attorney General Mark Brnovich in a news release.

Joe Spina, co-owner of several Mama’s Famous Pizza & Heroes restaurants in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, said the local chain is losing money since reopening its dining rooms at reduced capacity due to public health restrictions.

At the same time, he said, his costs have increased by as much as 40% for meats, cheeses, olive oil and some other staples.

Spina said he’s reviewing his options and is leaning toward raising menu prices rather than adding on COVID surcharges.

“I can’t justify charging everyone who comes in the door an extra dollar for hand sanitizer and an extra dollar for a mask,� he said.

Chucri, of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Restaurant Association, said he’s not in favor of surcharges because ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ns tend to deeply dislike such fees unlike, say, Californians, who tend to be more accepting.

Instead of surcharges, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ restaurants that need more revenue should just raise prices quietly so as not to alienate their clientele, Chucri said. “Don’t say it,â€� he advised. “Just do it.â€�